Welcome to the Inglenook at Cold Spring School Library...a cozy place by the fire to discuss children's literature and the wonder of reading and learning.

Friday, March 27, 2009

News From The Library--March 27,2009

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

One of my favorite things to do in our Library is to introduce students to a book I loved as a child. And so it was this week with the third graders and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, the classic by Betty MacDonald. There's something irresistible about a grown up with magical powers who really understands children and that describes Mrs. Piggle Wiggle perfectly. I read "The Radish Cure"--one of my favorites, having had two boys myself who were not fond of the bathtub. There's something reassuring in this age of computeres, video games, and DVDs in cars that children still love hearing a story written in 1947.

Also in the library this week..(we had short days because of parent conferences)

Kindergarten--Mrs. Sickafoose's class heard Cats, Cats, Cats by Leslea Newman and enjoyed the rhyming story of Mrs. Brown and her 60 (!) cats. Using a book with rhyme for this group is a great way of helping them with their auditory perception as well as honing their prediction skills.

First Grade--no library this week.

Second Grade--Another of my favorites as a child was Toads and Diamonds. This version, retold by Charlotte Huck and illustrated by Anita Lobel is always a hit and students do get the "moral" of the tale--kindness leads to riches in your life.

Third Grade--see opening post

Fourth Grade-- no library this week.

Fifth Grade--Fifth graders entered the wonderful world of wikis this week! We went to the Library Wiki and they each made their own folder. In future weeks they will post research.

Sixth Grade--In preparation for their study of Greek mythology in art, I read Persephone and thePomegranate by Kris Waldherr. After Spring Break, 6th graders will start their Greek Mythology ceramics project and will begin researching their god or goddess in the library.

No comments:

At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold,
that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the
better. ~~Barack Obama (from a speech to the American Library Association June 25, 2005)

About Me

I graduated from UCLA in 1970 with a degree in Art History and then earned my California Teaching Credential from UCLA in 1972. After teaching 4th grade in the inner city for 2 years I moved to Santa Barbara and founded the Santa Barbara Center for Educational Therapy. In 1989, with a desire to return to the public schools, I was fortunate to be hired as a school librarian and I'm starting my 20th year at Cold Spring School.
I have always been a bookworm and love teaching so this is the perfect job for me!